Yeah, I am getting annoyed with their customer service as well. It only took 3 weeks for the first reply to come, and it was pretty short, lacking information, and unapologetic when it did finally arrive. They market this as a modular shotgun, but it is only modular in that it breaks down into 3 pieces...at least in the USA. Does that make an O/U shotgun modular too? How about a 1911 or any Semi-auto pistol? The slide comes off of the frame and the magazine is removeable too!
I went duck hunting once with my Vinci and didn't clean it immediately after...sometimes I forget to clean my shotguns, especially the synthetic ones, for a couple of weeks. Well, I cleaned it the other night and noticed a spot of rust on the receiver and another on the barrel. Rubbed off fine and the cleaning I gave it makes it look brand new inside and out, but what if it hadn't and I'd wanted to replace the barrel? Too bad? $1400 gone because of a rust spot? Ridiculous. I'm not completely sure, but it looked like the barrel could be screwed out of the receiver similar to a bolt action rifle setup...if not, Benelli should seriously consider this too, as barrel swapping is a pretty common thing here in the US and they could do that without the issue of a separate serial number.
I'm actually thinking of selling my Vinci just so I don't have to put up with future hassels, and instead buying either a nice O/U or an older but good conditioned Rem 1100 with some "extras" so I can use it as a duck gun, slug gun, or a 3gun/HD option.